Quite, although I'm not sure it'll wear off that fast, there are plenty more muppets out there.

...so the alternative is what?

Seriously Listy, I accept that you are on a downer about the club in general at the moment and with good reason in certain areas, but to say there is no chance of getting 25k people to a club game in London is akin to saying it will never work. If you are correct, then the club may as well sell themselves lock stock and barrel to Halifax and be done with it.......
I wasn't suggesting that the 25k would all return, they probably wouldn't, but if Saracens, can get 42k to wembley and go on the record as saying next year they want 60k, then why in gods name would it be so difficult to get 25k to Craven Cottage.
As I said, it wouldn't be easy...if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, but the alternative is to stumble along for another 3 years averaging 3k and then to repeat it..........until DH walks and the club folds.

Taken from the London RL site


....get this lot involved from an early stage, ensure no fixture clashes, ensure the University/College guys are involved and are "rewarded" for selling tickets.....I know listy, it's another "little initiative"......and as for losing the plot, that happened back in 2002. Following Celtic was never this much fun

Consistent, long term and sustainable plans incorporating our own stadium and resources rather than radical, unrealistic 1 off events elsewhere.

Come back in 10 years time when we have raised our average to 7000 at home and then we'll talk about an event elsewhere to take the club to the next level.

2002 I started watching this lot when the average attendance was 3,803.......10 years on and it's 18% less, so what makes you think 2022 will be any different?

3,124 >>>>7,000 over 10 years 9% year on year growth....2002 when they rolled up at GP saw an 18% rise, 2005 when we made the play-offs and actually did some marketing saw a 13% hike, but apart from those years, the club has failed to build crowds through any form of regular marketing and promotional activity. Even the move away from GP to become QRL only produced an 8% increase.

Anything less than an average of 3,750 (17.5%) in 2012 will be a failure in my opinion.......with the same growth again in 2013, because if we aren't knocking on the door of a 5k average by 2014, we will be in real trouble on the licencing and funding fronts.

I agree with regard to regular growth over quick fixes, but the club doesn't have the luxury of 10 years and even if they only managed to get 15k top a game at Craven Cottage, it would generate additional funds and grab some column inches in the short term and could be implemented in ADDITION to the sustainable marketing you mention.

This is a new beginning yada yada yada. I don't buy into it either but you've got to try and have faith in what they are going to attempt to do.

If the club aren't prepared to wait 10 years to establish themselves then they might as well give up now. My main hope during the 3 year period is that David Hughes leaves the club, as hopefully that will mean the club can support itself, as currently its position is completley unsustainable.

You hope Hughes leaves? Or hope the club grows big enough to allow him to ?

Both, as I thought my post alluded to...

I haven't used this expression in a while, but what the club has been guilty of in pretty much the entire ESL era is 'Field of Dreams" marketing and as a direct result of this arrogant attitude, the club find themselves on the brink.

I have no idea if this attitude comes from DH or is simply ingrained at the club, but if DH was to walk away at any time in the next 3 years and there was no replacement for his investment, then the club would fold immediately!

The Guy at HKA reckons 10k is the break even attendance figure for a SL club to be able to survive if spending the full cap. London Broncos RL can achieve this, but it will take over 10 years unless there is a decent injection of MARKETING cash, together with a level of success on the park.

The last 10 years has seen a little bit of success with play-off games in 2003 and 2005 and minimal marketing activity in 2005 and 2009........although I am loathe to describe a few thousand plastic wallets, getting people from Huddersfield to like our facebook page in return for a free ticket and a viral video that never got off the ground marketing.
2011 was the year of giving it away, a tactic that was suggested (in a slightly better format) to the club and METRO in 2008, with METRO being up for it, but the club not.

Back to the World Club Championship season, what brought in the crowds then, yes okay we were playing top Aussie Clubs, but was it advertising on Capital FM? and the promotional package they offered, I said weeks ago we should have someone like Capital as our shirt sponsor, the London output is on Freeview or Heart which is as well and both have stations over the North. This is Saints new marketing strategy with the council and it is exciting their supporters! www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/9460 ... gn/?ref=la

Back to the World Club Championship season, what brought in the crowds then, yes okay we were playing top Aussie Clubs, but was it advertising on Capital FM? and the promotional package they offered, I said weeks ago we should have someone like Capital as our shirt sponsor, the London output is on Freeview or Heart which is as well and both have stations over the North. This is Saints new marketing strategy with the council and it is exciting their supporters! www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/9460 ... gn/?ref=la

Struck me as being the case when we became H********s.

It's simple, we had a decent team then.

Quote ="jaybs":wpbu08j0Back to the World Club Championship season, what brought in the crowds then, yes okay we were playing top Aussie Clubs, but was it advertising on Capital FM? and the promotional package they offered, I said weeks ago we should have someone like Capital as our shirt sponsor, the London output is on Freeview or Heart which is as well and both have stations over the North. '" against the champions was a shade over 9k, but the abiding memory for me that night was just how many damn Bulls supporters had come down, they totally overwhelmed the Broncos supporters. And we had a couple of 3k's and a suspiciously rounded 2.5k against Tigers. Capital Radio did run comps at the time but nothing that major. www.londonbroncosrl.com/rugby/re ... eason=1997

Quote ="jaybs":wpbu08j0Back to the World Club Championship season, what brought in the crowds then, yes okay we were playing top Aussie Clubs, but was it advertising on Capital FM? and the promotional package they offered, I said weeks ago we should have someone like Capital as our shirt sponsor, the London output is on Freeview or Heart which is as well and both have stations over the North. '" against the champions was a shade over 9k, but the abiding memory for me that night was just how many damn Bulls supporters had come down, they totally overwhelmed the Broncos supporters. And we had a couple of 3k's and a suspiciously rounded 2.5k against Tigers. Capital Radio did run comps at the time but nothing that major. www.londonbroncosrl.com/rugby/re ... eason=1997

Mr GF came up with an idea that if the club fail to sell the shirt sponsor they should give it away to a charity that broadcasts across London and has a slogan along the lines of Help a ........Child. Donate 50p from every ticket sold at the gate/on-line when SALC is quoted.....remains to be seen if the club manage to sell the space, but I admit to being green with envy when she came up with that "little initiative".

Mr GF? ... hello sweetie

What would we gain from this "little initiative", apart from losing revenue? I can't think of anything.

Seriously.....
Capital Radio FM are delighted to announce a new initiative with The London Broncos RL team. As part of this joint venture, Capital Radio FM's Help a London Child will receive 25p from every ticket purchased at the Twickenham Stoop in the current Super League Season.

......now, I am not sure if you're new to London or if you just don't listen to Capital, but they are the No1 Independant radio station in town and they bang on for months and months about their annual charity drive that generates millions.
If you can't see the benefit of being repeatedly promoted on the capitals No1 commercial station, then I give up.....



How much do you reckon St Mary's paid to be on the shirts recently? 2.5% of the ticket revenue for 2011 would be about 10k.......I reckon we'd get that much exposure in the first 4 weeks of the arrangement.......as well as picking up extra fans as a result of that exposure.

Is it that hard to fathom?

So people are going to roll in to watch us play on the basis of a charity drive on a commerical radio station?

O....K.

I'm not sure that's the best way of selling our club/sport. I am also extremely dubious about any business/club getting involved in charities in that manner but that's another argument all together.

Seriously PART II

I went digging for a few figures...Capital London claim about 2 million pairs of ears with an average of 5 hours per day. The cost of Radio advertising has stood up well to the recession when compared to the sick puppy that is print and the audience empathise with the DJ's as they become, in a lot of cases, Like a friendly workmate.


Now, I've been away for a while, but Lisa Snowdon is still a fox and still on the breakfast show.......get her in the changing rooms/Gymn with some of the guys...broadcasting Live to Dave Berry.....talking about the forthcoming game, the fact that 25p from every ticket sold will be going to the HALC charity......maybe even get the weekend show broadcast from the stoop......that alone is worth the 10k in lost ticket revenue........prizes all week long of signed Capital Radio London Broncos shirts, VIP tickets to the game......etc..etc...etc......

What would you rather see? A 2-4-1 voucher in League Express?

btw..........Capital Radio Londons' website gets about 250 times the traffic the Harlequins site did.......again, well worth the 10k on its own, but when combined with everything else, it starts to look very cheap.

As for the Morality of it? Everyone wins........we get more exposure, which in itself is an area we are severly lacking, we get more fans (2,000,000 sets of ears....I reckon maybe 200 a game would be reasonable) and Capital Radio SALC gets funds..........I don't see a moral issue...I see a potential route to market.

Nah, still don't buy it and I can't see why they would waste their time doing it. Why would their listeners want to hear Dave Berry in the changing room of some random sports team nobody has heard of? our product isn't suitable to be mass marketed in this fashion at present. With regards to the morality, you'll never change my views on it but in the majority of cases businesses should have nothing to do with charity unless it is linked to their primary business activity. For example, William Hill make significant donations to charities supporting retired greyhounds. However Coral at one point were supporting a a charity that worked in primary schools, nothing to do with bookmaking. Why ever would they do that?

Serious gambling problem for the primary school kids in Harringey and Ossett apparently

Doesn't Bet Fred support a hair loss charity!! No idea what thats about

One of Rob's testimonial charities is Help a Capital Child (as it is now GF) but couldn't get them interested in any publicity even though they would gain from it!

1. Dave Berry wouldn't be the focal point......it would be Lisa Snowdon drooling over the fit blokes.etc.etc.etc.....
2. Random we may be, but WE ARE LONDON and we would be throwing an assured 10k at their charity....
3. The Product is suitable to be mass marketed....every product with maybe the exception of Rolls Royce is suitable to be mass marketed....
4. I repeat....F*&k your moral tales.....if we phone Capital FM london and say we want to give them cash in exchange for having their logo on our shirts, then we will, at worst, end up sitting around a table with them.

Paddock.......a testemonial is one thing and no disrespect to Rob, but a London Based Professional Sports Club is a whole new ball game......10k, bolted on with the potential to get more IF THEY PUSH THE CLUB is a viable opportunity for them. Soccer clubs have rivals down here, as do Union clubs.......WE DON'T!

That is drivel that I can only assume that as a marketing professional, you have only come out with in an attempt to support your argument.

And this backwards sponsorship idea you have of paying another company to put their logo on our shirts is one of the oddest I've come across. Let me get this straight:

The club should pay money to Capital FM for the privaledge of having their logo on our shirt. Then, we should start donating our own ticket revenues to charity, in association with Capital FM. And then you are hoping that because they name drop the club sometimes, people are going to start coming to watch London Broncos? Have a laugh.

You just seem to be picking channels at random that will reach huge amounts of people but realistically will achieve nothing. I keep saying it, why should Capital FM listeners give two hoots about a small Rugby League club?! If this was a professional Premier League side, then I could see why that would be attractive for them and their listeners, if linked in with a SPORTS show. I cannot believe you actually think that they would have a random link up on their Breakfast Show

Well spotted, but you get my point.......mass marketing can work for a great many products and services and London RL could be one of them....the Monarchs were mass marketed and it was only lack of CRM and continued marketing that saw them vanish up their own backsides.


So, 2,000,000 people hearing a number of DJ's promote the club and game is a bad thing is it? I would say a regular fan is worth about 260 quid a year to the club.....2,000,000 people to attract 40 new regular fans to cover the 10k......and it beats running onto the pitch with a space where we should have a sponsor....



If you don't ask, you don't get....that is the first rule of Sales. I am not saying Capital Radio would buy into the concept and I am not saying it would see the stoop rammed to capacity either, but discussing the option is better than a blank shirt, with the exception of a dental clinics logo on the sleeve!

Not selecting channels either. As I said, it wasn't my idea, but I freely admit to thinking it's a good one.......I would never have thought a link up with a radio station would pay dividends....radio Jackie or whatever was only any use whilst the club went throug its X Factor phase.

Last point. The 10k would be an assured amount. 25p from every ticket sold all season, with a minimum of 10,000 to the charity........2.5% of ticket revenue is a small price to pay for 2,000,000 listeners IMO.